Pathfinder - Witch Archetypes Breakdown

Disclaimer

I will use content from the core rules, but will intentionally omit any content not published
on the official Pathfinder SRD due to the
unmanageable volume of non-SRD content, and the wildly varying quality of non-SRD content.
If you would like me to write handbooks for specific content not published on the official
SRD, please email me and I will consider it on a case-by-case
basis. I will use the color coding scheme which has become common among Pathfinder build
handbooks. Also note that many colored items are also links to the Paizo SRD.

Red: Bad, useless options, or options which are extremely situational.

Orange: OK options, or useful options that only apply in rare circumstances

Green: Good options.

Blue: Fantastic options, often essential to the function of your character.

Temporary Note: Pathfinder Unchained and Occult Adventures were
both recently added to the SRD. I'm excited to explore them, and I am actively working
on adding their contents to my collection of handbooks. I appreciate your patience while
I make these changes.

Archetypes

Witch archetypes typically double-down on the Witch's Patron. Many Witches work
just fine without taking an Archetype, but Archetypes can offer some assitional
options.

The Witch is already very dependent on its familiar, and the Beast-Bonded archetype
takes this dependency one step further. The abilities aren't particularly great,
but you can improve them slightly by taking Improved Familiar and picking a suitably
cool familiar.

Transfer Feats (Ex): You are a spellcaster. You cast
spells. Your familiar is an amusing pet, but it's hardly capable of competing with
you as a spellcaster. Giving it some feats won't change that.

Enhanced Familiar (Su): Wow. One level higher. Yay.

Familiar Form (Sp): This is a decent ability for one
or two levels, assuming that you built your character intending to polymorph.

Twin Soul (Su): I would strongly consider killing my
character intentionally just to be able to run around inside my pet cat or whatever.

The Gravewalker is not your run of the mill master of the undead. Most undead-centric
spellcasting archetypes are centered around having ever larger groups of undead minions.
The Gravewalker can also create undead, but instead of pointing them at their foes,
Gravewalkers inhabit the bodies of their undead minions. This can lead to horrific
things like a Witch occupying the body of a shadow while she runs around murdering
people. Because this archetype is dependent on having multiple undead minions, it can
cause issues in a normal party. Consult your GM and your party before introducing mobs
of skeletons to the party.

Spells: The Gravewalker's spells give the Witch all of
the undead creation and control spells required to be a master of the undead.

command undead: Totally redundant with your
Bonethrall ability.

animate dead: Time to build an army. If
you create more undead than Animate Dead allows you to control, you can use Command
Undead to control the ones that fall out of control.

create undead: Create some scary undead.
The spell is more expensive than Animate Dead, but the difference between a
ghoul and a zombie is pretty huge.

control undead: Unintelligent undead
still get a save, and the duration is shorter than Command Undead.

create greater undead: Create some very
scary undead.

Spell Poppet: The flavor of this ability is fantastic,
but losing the normal utility of a familiar is disappointing. Of course, the spell
poppet gets some pretty fantastic powers as you level.

Bonethrall (Su): Even if you need to create the undead
yourself, an extra hit die of controlled undead per level is great. You can use this
ability at will, so even if your pets manage to shake your control, you can just try
again.

Possess Undead (Sp): Magic Jar is a complicated spell,
and this slightly changes the way it works. Here's how it works, step by step:

Activate ability as a standard action.

Select on undead minion within your aura of despair: Your mind transfers
into the body of your minion.

You occupy the body as specified in the
Magic Jar
spell description: If you are successful, your life force occupies the host
body, and the host's life force is imprisoned in the magic jar. You keep your
Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma, level, class, base attack bonus, base save bonuses,
alignment, and mental abilities. The body retains its Strength, Dexterity,
Constitution, hit points, natural abilities, and automatic abilities. A body with
extra limbs does not allow you to make more attacks (or more advantageous two-weapon
attacks) than normal. You can't choose to activate the body's extraordinary or
supernatural abilities. The creature's spells and spell-like abilities do not stay
with the body.

You may shift back to your Spell Poppet as a standard action, which ends the
ability.

The Healing patron provides a lot of spells to remove status effects, but very
little actual healing. By combining the Hedge Witch and the Healing patron, you can
nearly match the healing abilities of the Cleric. If your party lacks a healer,
this is a great option.

Spontaneous Healing (Su): This saves you a lot of known
spells, and allows you to heal your allies with no prior preperation.

Empathic Healing (Su): Very situational. Why would you
take on someone's afflictions when you can cure them just as easily?

If you want to channel energy, Clerics and Paladins both do it considerably better
than the Hex Channeler. Hex Channeler also introduces a dependency on Charisma for
which the Witch otherwise has no other use.

Channel Energy (Su): You only have to give up the Hex you
gain at 2nd level, but if you want more channel damage, you have to keep giving up
Hexes. Hexes are fantastic, and Channel Energy is passable if you put some effort into
it. Why would you give up a list of fantastic abilities for one passable ability?

I hate aquatic themed archetypes. I hate them so much. Every class has at least
one and they are all terrible. Some of them, including this one, are even terrible
while you're in/on/around/under water.

Patron: Why do you even get to pick a patron? All of the patron
spells are replaced by this archetype. Pick something weird just to mess with your
GM.

Spells:

touch of sea: Very situational, and you
still need Water Breathing.

gust of wind: Situational.

water breathing: Situational, but
essential for aquatic archetypes.

control water: Situational.

cloudkill: It's very rare that you will
be around groups of enemies weak enough to die to this spell.

control winds: Allows you to prevent
enemies from flying.

control weather: Very situational.

vortex: Very situational.

tsunami: A bit of damage, and some
excellent area control. Throw it at groups of enemies.

Know Direction (Sp): Situational and needlessly
restrictive.

Sea Creature Empathy (Ex): Even more situational than Wild
Empathy, which is already very situational.